I think it is absolutely amazing that over 27% of M3 drivers are age 16-25!?!? I was still in school and not in any position to buy a $70k car. I was buzzing around my university in a Honda Civic Si(loved that car). Bought my first BMW(318Ti Mtech package) at 26, first house at 28 and then my first ///M a year later. The 16-25 crowd must being doing something right, good for you!

Damn, I must say I'm surprised how many people in their teens and very early twenties have M3's. I'd hate to see their insurance rates.

My insurance rate isn't terrible, actually. It is only $400/yr more than what I paid to be insured for my previous car (a 4-cylinder toyota). And it's cheaper than my monthly parking rate!

Insurance rates are not necessarily sky-high for under-25 drivers - a lot of it has to do with prior record, personal background, etc. But I absolutely agree, I'm shocked how many //M3 owners there are here under the age of 25. My dealer said I was one of the youngest, as far as purchasing an //M3 is concerned.

I think it is absolutely amazing that over 27% of M3 drivers are age 16-25!?!? I was still in school and not in any position to buy a $70k car. I was buzzing around my university in a Honda Civic Si(loved that car). Bought my first BMW(318Ti Mtech package) at 26, first house at 28 and then my first ///M a year later. The 16-25 crowd must being doing something right, good for you!

Part of it is from tech and the inevitable entrepreneurship that comes along with anything new.

But this also partly why:

Quote:

The BMW M3, with a base price of $54,000 to $65,000, has the lowest average customer age of any model in the automaker's lineup.
..

Take, for example, the BMW M3. You might expect this $62,000 Bavarian hot rod to be best suited to wealthy middle-aged car nuts, but instead the car has the lowest average customer age of any model in BMW’s line-up.

M3 buyers are surprisingly young, reports Larry Koch, M brand manager for BMW North America. While the average age of a buyer is 41, many M3 buyers are in their mid-20s, and others are closer to 56 — older enthusiasts finally buying the car they’ve long wanted.

“There is a two-humped profile for the M3’s age graph,” Koch said. “They are very young or they are old,” he said. “There are no 41-year-olds.”

It’s a similar story across the automobile industry. While fresh-out-of-school professionals, burdened with student loans and first-job salaries, might be expected to buy entry-level cars like Honda Civics or Toyota Corollas, instead many are choosing rides that fit the image they have of themselves as wealthy and successful, even though they haven’t yet achieved that status.

Members of “Gen Y” — a famously fickle age group loosely defined as those born between 1978 and 1994 — don’t feel they need to earn their luxury, observed Ed Kim, director of industry analysis for AutoPacific, which tracks the automotive industry.

“They want it now, and they feel they deserve it now,” he said.

This trend works to the benefit of automakers that produce "aspirational" vehicle models that younger buyers decide they deserve to own, even if, by conventional measures, they can’t afford them.
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The answer, he explained, is that youngsters are spending the rent money on their car payments.

“Generation Y is shaking out very differently to other generations,” said Kim. “There are unprecedented numbers of boomerang kids who come home after college and stay a long time.”

Living with the parents rent-free frees up cash for flashy rides like the M3, he said.
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Audi acknowledges the success its competitors have had making themselves so irresistible to younger car buyers that they’ll scrimp elsewhere to afford a prestigious car. Luxury carmakers like Mercedes-Benz and BMW offer a lot of lease financing to help customers afford their products.

“You get a fair amount of stretching [by young customers] to get into the brand,” observed Scott Keogh, chief marketing officer for Audi of the Americas. “That’s something Audi wants to get into.”

I'm not buying myself a M3 until I have at least half a million in the bank. It's a rather arbitrary amount and not a lot of money to some, but it will be a nice reward for myself. I started out with nothing.

Right now the best reward is the satisfaction from the hard work that I'm putting in (usually 70 hours per week).

If a parent buys their kid a nice car, that's fine, as long as they recognize that it's their parents' money and they have achieved absolutely nothing.

I don't get the people who can't afford it and drive it around to project 'status'. If one wants to live at home with their parents to afford a M3, that's their own business. It's just plain sad from my POV.

I think it is absolutely amazing that over 27% of M3 drivers are age 16-25!?!? I was still in school and not in any position to buy a $70k car. I was buzzing around my university in a Honda Civic Si(loved that car). Bought my first BMW(318Ti Mtech package) at 26, first house at 28 and then my first ///M a year later. The 16-25 crowd must being doing something right, good for you!

I have the same car. Still have it actually. Mine is a Red 5MT. Love that car!

Same here man, same here. I wake up for work 6 days a week at 3:30am, begin my work day at 4:00am, and don't leave work till 4:00pm, so I know what you mean. But like you, I got to bed satisfied and I sleep well!

My moto; Work hard, play hard, give hard (bless others as much as you can).

Quote:

Originally Posted by mexicanmike

I read that article a while back and was looking for the link when I read this thread. Good for you, keep putting in the 70 hour weeks!! Hard work, people underestimate it!

You're absolutely right. Most people only see the glory, but they don't know the story.

I think it is absolutely amazing that over 27% of M3 drivers are age 16-25!?!? I was still in school and not in any position to buy a $70k car. I was buzzing around my university in a Honda Civic Si(loved that car). Bought my first BMW(318Ti Mtech package) at 26, first house at 28 and then my first ///M a year later. The 16-25 crowd must being doing something right, good for you!

You have to take into account the bias that this poll was taken on M3post, and is not an accurate snapshot of the average M3 owner. More young people use this forum than old people, therefore this poll will lean towards the younger crowd. If you took a real life poll, I'm sure the 16-25 group would be quite a bit smaller.

I think it is absolutely amazing that over 27% of M3 drivers are age 16-25!?!? I was still in school and not in any position to buy a $70k car. I was buzzing around my university in a Honda Civic Si(loved that car). Bought my first BMW(318Ti Mtech package) at 26, first house at 28 and then my first ///M a year later. The 16-25 crowd must being doing something right, good for you!

Same here. I was driving an old Acura Integra while in college, bought my first new car at 22 ('03 WRX) and bought my first house at 25. No M car just yet though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mexicanmike

Got mine in Oct 09. 24, payed by me and only me. Next time I am doing ED and doing Individual Color/Options/Ect. Even though the current one if fully loaded, I want Individual Color.

Definitely do Euro Delivery. It is totally worth it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pman10

My insurance rate isn't terrible, actually. It is only $400/yr more than what I paid to be insured for my previous car (a 4-cylinder toyota). And it's cheaper than my monthly parking rate!

Insurance rates are not necessarily sky-high for under-25 drivers - a lot of it has to do with prior record, personal background, etc. But I absolutely agree, I'm shocked how many //M3 owners there are here under the age of 25. My dealer said I was one of the youngest, as far as purchasing an //M3 is concerned.

Very true, there are a lot of variables that will determine the insurance rate for a given individual. My rates dropped slightly each year between 22 and 25, but it was a significant drop once I hit 25.

To those who say the young people with M3s must be doing something right, keep in mind they could be doing something, very, very wrong, haha. Signing your life away is rarely a good investment.

I'm interested to see that there are a number of people here who bought an M3 prior to buying a house. I wonder how much of that has to do with where you live. For example, an M3 in small town USA would be one hell of a down payment on a 3000sqft house. An M3 in NYC, not the case.

To those who say the young people with M3s must be doing something right, keep in mind they could be doing something, very, very wrong, haha. Signing your life away is rarely a good investment.

I'm interested to see that there are a number of people here who bought an M3 prior to buying a house. I wonder how much of that has to do with where you live. For example, an M3 in small town USA would be one hell of a down payment on a 3000sqft house. An M3 in NYC, not the case.

How many people who bought a house in 2008 consider it a better investment than the M3? Unless you bought one owned by a bank, you've probably lost more money than the depreciation of the M3. Since 2007 my house has depreciated $200k. I was looking at condos in a couple of areas hit hard by the economy last year. Glad I didn't buy any of them.

How many people who bought a house in 2008 consider it a better investment than the M3? Unless you bought one owned by a bank, you've probably lost more money than the depreciation of the M3. Since 2007 my house has depreciated $200k. I was looking at condos in a couple of areas hit hard by the economy last year. Glad I didn't buy any of them.

Oh. I forgot to mention my mortgage payment is less than my lease payment.

How many people who bought a house in 2008 consider it a better investment than the M3? Unless you bought one owned by a bank, you've probably lost more money than the depreciation of the M3. Since 2007 my house has depreciated $200k. I was looking at condos in a couple of areas hit hard by the economy last year. Glad I didn't buy any of them.

We don't have California's weather or eye candy, but our house in Texas has actually appreciated since 2008.

I hear what you're saying though. I felt guilty pulling a substantial chunk of cash out of my investment "fun" money account literally the week before sh!t hit the fan in October 2008 to put down on the M3. Losing half of the rest of the money in that account over the next 6 months cured that feeling.